Fedwell owner Alexis Starkey in front of Fedwell at 821 Upshur Street NW.

by Yuliya Panfil

This Friday a new restaurant will open its doors at 821 Upshur Street NW.

Fedwell, a farm-to-table comfort food concept, is the first restaurant for Petworth resident Alexis Starkey. She’s operated a catering company called Farm to Feast for the last 14 years, and has itched to open a space where the neighborhood can gather. When the short-lived Petworth Social shut its doors last fall, Starkey jumped to take over the lease.

“I’ve always felt this neighborhood needed a kid-friendly third space,” Starkey told me from inside the restaurant, whose interior has been transformed with cottagey flower wallpaper, modern lightning and retro chairs.

While offering a full menu for many types of eaters, Fedwell’s seasonal menu also focuses on veggies. Starkey says she’s excited to offer plant-based and gluten-free dishes that punch above the tired options that vegetarians and people with gluten intolerance typically have to settle for. Her favorite menu item is the Charred Leeks “Berlin Style” with smoked lentils, red cabbage mousse, rye croutons and cider gastrique.

Hummus and Roasted Roots (photo: Taylor Mickal Photography)

Carnivores will have a pick of mainstays including short ribs, salmon and an “uptown burger” made from a brisket blend and served with cheddar cheese, pickled onion, lettuce and a smoked tomato aioli.

Sweet Potato Fries and Short Rib Slider (photo: Taylor Mickal Photography)

Starkey, who has a six-year old daughter, says she’s designed both the menu and the space to minimize stress on families who’d like to eat out. Alongside staples like butter noodles and chicken tenders, the kids menu has a mini charcuterie plate that Starkey says, “Comes out quick so the kid’s not dying at the table waiting for their food.” The restaurant will also have a collection of games and crafts on hand to keep little ones entertained.

Harissa-Honey Salmon and Slow Cooked Short Rib (photo: Taylor Mickal Photography)

Fedwell will open for dinner from Wednesday to Sunday to start, and will adjust its operating schedule based on demand. The restaurant’s back room will be available for larger parties and for community events. The bar will be open from 5pm, and Starkey said she’ll consider a 4pm happy hour if the neighborhood wants it. The menu includes a variety of cocktails (including a Petworth Punch, naturally), mocktails, beers and wine.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake (photo: Taylor Mickal Photography)

Down the line Starkey hopes to offer a communal Sunday dinner, where patrons can order family-style dishes to share with neighbors, family and friends. She’s also hoping to sell take-home meals for busy families, assuming she can augment Fedwell’s limited freezer space.

Kendra Faulkner, Executive Chef at Farm to Feast, will serve as Fedwell's Director of Operations. Cole Porter is Fedwell's Executive Chef.

Starkey’s culinary career started later in life, after she had spent years working in public relations and throwing elaborate dinner parties on the side. She trained at the French Culinary Institute in New York and completed her studies in the Dolomite Mountains under Anna Matscher, one of Italy’s first female Michelin Star chefs. It wasn’t until an abysmal catering experience at her own wedding in 2009 that Starkey decided to step into the food world fulltime.

“I got married in Cape Cod and the wedding caterer was terrible,” Starkey said, laughing at the recollection. “They served chicken pot pie instead of vegan pot pie. Half of the wedding party’s food was cold and my cousin said he was microwaving people’s food in his cabin…. I thought, wow, I could do this a lot better.”

Farm to Feast catering was born in 2010 and boasts a steady business across the DMV. Starkey credits the company with enabling her to plunge into DC’s restaurant scene, where high rents and razor-thin food margins have recently driven neighborhood favorites like Almeda and Slash Run to close their doors. Ranu Rawat, owner of Fedwell's predecessor, told Petworth News that the space’s $8,600 monthly rent was a “nail in the coffin” for the restaurant.

Starkey says she’s clear-eyed about the economics of running a restaurant in a bedroom community like Petworth, where business is typically brisk only on certain evenings and on weekends.

“It’s a hard business, especially if you want to do it ethically,” she says. “You have to carefully manage your costs to stay afloat. You’ll notice cross-utilization on the menu, for example. That’s a way to conserve space and costs. We have to look for ways to tighten our belts.”

Fedwell owner Alexis Starkey in front of the restaurant with several of her Farm to Feast staff, including Office Manager Ren Michelle (left), Sales and Event Catering Specialist Katrina Liona, and Assistant Event Coordinator Ailbhe McCann.

Starkey is also clear-eyed that she can’t expect Petworth families to single handedly sustain Fedwell. Her suggestion: if you eat here and you like it, spread the word and bring your friends from outside the neighborhood. She also urged the community to share ideas about what they’d like to see on offer, whether that’s food, live music or something else.

“I hope we’ll be nimble enough to take community feedback,” she says. “I’ve wanted to open for so long and things kept happening, and finally I said, we just have to set a date and do it. So we’re gonna go for it and hopefully people will be kind if there are some wobbles in the beginning.”

Fedwell
821 Upshur Street NW
Wed-Sun, 5pm to 11pm